Savory Owl Snack - Letter "O"

Ingredients:

1 small container of plain cream cheese

1 package of round crackers

1 small box of mini crackers with cheese inside

1 package of slivered almonds

1 small jar of whole raw almonds

1 small box of raisins

Directions:

Whoooo's hungry? You will need: cream cheese , round crackers, mini cheese crackers , whole and slivered almonds, and raisins. Spread layer of cream cheese . Create feather pattern. Place whole almond in center for beak. Flank with cheese crackers . Arrange slivered almonds for ear tufts and wings. Use cream cheese to add raisin eyes. 

To watch an easy step-by-step "how to" video, click HERE

Also, HERE is a great recipe for Chocolate Octopuses that I made with my son a few years ago. It makes for another great letter "O" recipe.

Dirt Cake - Letter "D"

by: Sheila Boyd

Ingredients:
1 c. confectioners' sugar
1/4 c. butter or margarine
1 - 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese
1 - 8 oz. Cool Whip
2 pkgs. French Vanilla pudding (instant)
3 1/3 c. milk
Lg. bag Oreo cookies, crushed
1 pkg. gummy worms

Directions:
In one bowl combine sugar, butter, and cream cheese. Blend well. In another bowl, mix Cool Whip, contents of the two pudding packets, and milk. Then combine both mixtures. In a medium plastic flower pot, layer cookies and mix. Make sure to put cookies on bottom and top. May decorate with artificial flower and use a garden spade to serve with.

mixing sugar, butter, and cream cheese

breaking up the Oreos

Fiesta White Chili

Ingredients:

1 can black beans

1 can corn, undrained

1 can Rotel, undrained

1 package ranch dressing mix

1 tbsp. chili powder

1 tsp. onion powder

1- 8 oz. package light cream cheese

2 chicken breasts

Directions:

*This is a crock-pot or slow cooker recipe*

Cook and shred the chicken first. Then drain and rinse the black beans. Place the chicken in the bottom of the pot, then corn, Rotel, and black beans. Top all of this with the chili and onion powders and the ranch mix. Stir. Place the cream cheese on the very top. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Serve with tortilla chips. Enjoy!:)

*If you want the chili to be thick, add some brown rice in the mixture but watch the chili carefully and add water as needed. 

I only remembered to take this picture before cooking the chili. I will try to remember to take a picture of the finished chili next time. 

Seafood Lasagna

chopped red peppers


chopped scallions


Now the layering starts!


Layers: sauce, noodles, mixture, sauce, noodles, mixture, sauce, noodles, mixture, noodles, extra veggies, sauce, cheese




Here are pictures of our friends' daughters. They are such smart and sweet girls! Sawyer and Olivia had a blast playing with them!


Seafood Lasagna
Family Circle magazine March 2009

We had this meal last night for our guests. This, along with a spinach salad, made a delicious meal that even the children liked (except for the picky one)! This is one of those fun recipes to try when you're tired of cooking "the same ole things" over and over. This certainly isn't your every day meal! The recipe is awesome because it's packed with vitamin-rich veggies! If you are slow chopping vegetables, like I am, allow yourself a full hour to wash, dry, and chop the vegetables.

Ingredients

* 1 pound reduced-fat cream cheese
* 3 scallions, trimmed and chopped
* 1/4 cup milk
* 2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning or Creole Seasoning
* 2 sweet red peppers, cored, seeded and finely diced
* 2 boxes (10 ounce each) frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and squeezed dry
* 3/4 pound imitation crabmeat, shredded
* 2 eggs
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
* 1 jar (1 pound) alfredo pasta sauce
* 12 no-boil lasagna noodles
* 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350°. Coat 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking dish with nonstick spray. Stir cream cheese, scallions, milk and Old Bay seasoning in bowl until smooth. Stir in peppers, reserving 1/2 cup, and broccoli, reserving 1 cup. Add crabmeat, 1 egg, salt and pepper. Whisk remaining egg into alfredo sauce.

2. Spread 1/3 cup alfredo sauce into baking dish. Top with 3 noodles, one-third of the crab mixture and one-fourth of alfredo sauce. Repeat layering twice. Top with 3 noodles; sprinkle with reserved red peppers and broccoli. Pour on remaining alfredo sauce. Sprinkle with Parmesan.

3. Bake, covered, at 350° for 30 minutes. Uncover; bake an additional 20 to 25 minutes, until browned and bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes.

Red Velvet Brownies

Red Velvet Brownies
Southern Living, DECEMBER 2010

These taste AMAZING! Once I saw this recipe in Southern Living, I had to try it!! They are great for people, like me, that have a strong sweet-tooth! They may be a little too rich for the average person.

Makes 16 servings

Ingredients

* 1 (4-oz.) bittersweet chocolate baking bar, chopped
* 3/4 cup butter
* 2 cups sugar
* 4 large eggs
* 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 (1-oz.) bottle red liquid food coloring
* 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1/8 teaspoon salt
* Small-Batch Cream Cheese Frosting
* Garnish: white chocolate curls

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Line bottom and sides of a 9-inch square pan with aluminum foil, allowing 2 to 3 inches to extend over sides; lightly grease foil.

2. Microwave chocolate and butter in a large microwave-safe bowl at HIGH 1 1/2 to 2 minutes or until melted and smooth, stirring at 30-second intervals. Whisk in sugar. Add eggs, 1 at a time, whisking just until blended after each addition. Gently stir in flour and next 4 ingredients. Pour mixture into prepared pan.

3. Bake at 350° for 44 to 48 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Cool completely on a wire rack (about 2 hours).

4. Lift brownies from pan, using foil sides as handles; gently remove foil. Spread Small-Batch Cream Cheese Frosting on top of brownies, and cut into 16 squares. Garnish, if desired.

Small-Batch Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

* 1 (8-oz.) package cream cheese, softened
* 3 tablespoons butter, softened
* 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
* 1/8 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation

Beat cream cheese and butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add powdered sugar and salt, beating until blended. Stir in vanilla.

Hazelnut Pumpkin Pie

I love coffee creamer, so when I saw that this recipe calls for hazelnut creamer, I just had to try it!

Hazelnut Pumpkin Pie
by: Sunny Anderson
*freezes well

Yummy!!!!!!!!!!

Ingredients

* 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
* 3 tablespoons sugar
* 3 tablespoons hazelnut creamer, divided
* 1/2 cup butter, melted
* 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese
* 3/4 cup light brown sugar
* 3 eggs
* 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin puree
* 1/2 cup heavy cream
* 1/4 teaspoon allspice
* 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

To make crust, mix graham crackers, sugar, 1 tablespoon of hazelnut creamer and butter until combined. Press into a 9 to 10-inch springform pan or cake pan making sure to press mixture up the sides and bottom as well, set aside.

For filling, in a large bowl mix in order cream cheese, brown sugar, eggs 1 by 1 and pumpkin puree. In a small cup stir remaining 2 tablespoons of hazelnut creamer, allspice and salt into heavy cream. Pour heavy cream mixture into pumpkin mixture and blend until combined. Pour into crust and bake for 35 minutes or until the center sets. Allow to cool to room temperature before serving.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Pumpkin Cheesecake
by: Paula Deen, 2007

I made this cheesecake this Thanksgiving for the second time! Last year in Macedonia was my first time making it and I was so pleased! It is incredibly delicious!! This is now a traditional recipe that I want to have every Thanksgiving on the menu.

Ingredients
Crust:

* 1 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
* 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1 stick melted salted butter
*

Filling:

* 3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
* 1 (15-ounce) can pureed pumpkin
* 3 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
* 1/4 cup sour cream
* 1 1/2 cups sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/8 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg (optional)
* 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
* 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

For crust:

In medium bowl, combine crumbs, sugar and cinnamon. Add melted butter. Press down flat into a 9-inch springform pan. Set aside.

For filling:

Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add pumpkin puree, eggs, egg yolk, sour cream, sugar and the spices. Add flour and vanilla. Beat together until well combined.

Pour into crust. Spread out evenly and place oven for 1 hour. Remove from the oven and let sit for 15 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4 hours.

Oreo Cheesecake

Oreo Cheesecake

Crust:

24 crushed Oreos
¼ cup Sugar
1/3 cup butter

Pull apart and scrape out the filling from 24 cookies; crush those cookies and mix with butter and sugar. Press firmly onto the bottom of a spring form pan. Bake five minutes at 350 degrees.
Stand remaining 14 cookies around the edge of pan, firmly pressing bottom edge of each cookie into crust.

Filling:
3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
¾ Cup sugar
2 Large Eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon Vanilla
2 tablespoons Cornstarch
1 Cup Sour Cream

Beat together cheese and sugar until light and smooth. Beat in eggs, vanilla and cornstarch only until thoroughly mixed. Stir in sour cream until mixture is well blended. Pour into crust. Bake cheesecake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove from oven and place in refrigerator to cool immediately. This prevents cracks from forming in the cake.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Wing Dip
by: Sheila Boyd

2 large (12.5 oz.) cans of fully cooked chicken, drained
2 blocks of 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 c. (8 oz.) Colby Jack cheese, shredded
1 c. Franks RedHot Buffalo Wing Sauce
1 c. Ranch dressing

Mix it all together in a 2 qt. (8 x 11) casserole dish and bake for 30 minutes at 350 F.

Use crackers, pretzels, or celery sticks for dipping. Enjoy!

Mira’s Cheesecake

For many years now, my mother, Teresa has baked a delicious cheesecake. She is often asked to bake a cheesecake for family gatherings. Here's the recipe she uses. It's from a lady named Mira from Ila, Georgia (my hometown). I have used this recipe many times. I even used it while living overseas. I just had to make a few substitutions but it still turned out delicious. This is a must-try recipe!!!

Mira’s Cheesecake

Crust:

2 Cups Graham Cracker Crumbs
¼ cup Sugar
1/3 cup butter or oleo (melted)

Mix melted oleo with cracker crumbs and sugar. Press on bottom and sides of 10” spring form pan. Bake five minutes at 350 degrees.

Filling:
3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
¾ Cup sugar
2 Large Eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon Vanilla
2 tablespoons Cornstarch
1 Cup Sour Cream

Beat together cheese and sugar until light and smooth. Beat in eggs, vanilla and cornstarch only until thoroughly mixed. Stir in sour cream until mixture is well blended. Pour into crust. Bake cheesecake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove from oven and place in refrigerator to cool immediately. This prevents cracks from forming in the cake.